STAFF PICK: Science fiction is often seen as a male-dominated genre, but this exciting new sci-fi offering from Hedley Harrison has a cast of strong female characters that breaks the mould. [Jeremy Thompson, MD]

On a far-away planet, women rule the world. Men are for subservice and breeding. Social status is determined by skin colour. Ruled by a senate of black women, there is little place in the elite for the fair haired and pale-skinned. The planet has evolved into a city state in an apparently unoccupied wilderness.

However, below the surface of this carefully managed society, dissatisfaction is beginning to form. Sorak, a female blue-eyed and pale-skinned military officer, wants something more.

In a world where any signs of rebellion are brutally suppressed and a love interest that is regarded as unlawful, will Sorak ever find the haven she craves for?